● Figures suggest British car owners spent a billion pounds on unnecessary loan and lease payments during lockdown
● Tens of thousands left making expensive repayments on vehicles they didn’t drive for months
● Situation will accelerate consumers’ move away from traditional forms of car ownership
● Flexible, short-term car subscriptions set to soar in popularity in 2021 as a result
The entrepreneur behind one of the country’s biggest and fastest-growing vehicle subscription services believes the nation is on the verge of a car-buying revolution after traditional forms of ownership cost unwitting Brits nearly a billion pounds over lockdown.
Toby Kernon, founder and CEO of subscription site Wagonex.com, made the prediction after figures suggested tens of thousands of Brits were left out of pocket making lease, loan and insurance payments on cars they didn’t drive for months, while demand for subscription is soaring.
Enquiries at Wagonex.com have soared an incredible 250% percent since September 2020 as frustrated motorists have sought new and more flexible ways of ‘owning’ a new vehicle.
Car subscription, which works in much the same way as everything from TV streaming and mobile phones, to razor blades and family meal boxes, helps consumers swerve long-term financial commitments and common pitfalls such as drops in residual values.
Customers can browse and order online, handle all insurance and maintenance with the click of a mouse and arrange delivery direct to their own front door.
Best of all, there are no big deposits to make and the ability to choose subscriptions of between one month and 24 months means customers can change their car regularly and always be behind the wheel of the latest model.
That means customers could, for example, take delivery of the latest Range Rover 4×4 in January and swap it for the latest Porsche convertible in July.
Toby Kernon said: “The shift towards the subscription model of car ownership has been coming for a while and, before lockdown, research suggested subscriptions would account for 10% of all new registrations by 2025.
“In reality though the effects of lockdown have accelerated the shift towards car subscriptions. When you consider that 80% of drivers didn’t use their cars at all during lockdown while spending an average of £226 a month for the privilege, it is easy to see why people are making the shift towards flexible ownership.
Kernon added: “We live in an age where simplicity rules, and flexibility is key. If we can subscribe to everything from flowers and dog food to clothing, then cars are an obvious next step.
1 Figures are taken from:
1. The BVRLA 2019 report: showing 2,003,109 vehicles were leased in 2019.
2. ONS figures for 2019-20 show a £24 average weekly spend on car finance.
3. A survey published by GoCompare.com of its customers on vehicle usage in 2020. The figures showed 80% of drivers did not use their vehicles during lockdown months.
Total amount spent on finance during this time: £992,260,074.24
For more information visit www.wagonex.com
